Recovery
by demonman21
Summary: Sequel to "Returning Evil". The sisters try and cope with the losses in the battle against Kain, but there may be a few surprises for them.
1. Part 1

Recovery 1  
  
(I do not own any part of Charmed. I just write about it. This continues a storyline begun in Degrees of Evil, and continued in several other stories).  
  
Magic forces black and white Reaching out through space and light Be he far or be he near Bring us the Guardian Gabriel here.  
  
Phoebe waited a few seconds, praying inwardly that the being she wanted desperately would appear. When nothing happened, she flipped the pages and began chanting again.  
  
Powers of the family rise Course unseen across the skies Come to us we call you near Come to us and settle here Blood to Blood I summon thee Blood to Blood return to me  
  
As tears began to flow down her cheeks, Phoebe looked up. Cole looked back at her, and they both were thinking the same thing.  
  
"Are you sure that was the last spell in the Book?" Cole asked desperately.  
  
"Yes, I trie..tried everything, and he still isn't here." Phoebe remarked as she fought to hold back tears. Cole walked around the table and pulled her into his arms, and she began to weep. Cole rocked her back and forth until the weeping stopped, and then slowly began to whisper. "Sshhh.it will be alright. We can never give up hope. Gabriel is alive, he has to be, and we will bring him back here."  
  
"But, you heard Mortanos." Phoebe began, but Cole interrupted her.  
  
"I don't care if God himself came here and told us, I will NEVER give up," Cole said fiercely. Phoebe could feel the pain in his voice, and she knew he could never bear to believe that their son was dead. "My son is like me; he's a survivor. He will come back to us, he has to. Now, come on. We'll get some rest and try again tomorrow."  
  
Phoebe nodded, but as she and Cole cleaned up the supplies and left the room, Phoebe realized that in her heart, she no longer had any hope.  
  
***  
  
"Alright, take him to get an X-ray of his chest immediately, he could have a broken sternum," Dr. Connors told the orderly. As the orderly nodded and began to wheel the man out of the ER, Dr. Connors breathed a sigh. One down, about a million to go.  
  
"Dr. Connors." John said as he caught up with her.  
  
"Yes, Dr. Nichols?" Dr. Connors replied in a tired voice.  
  
"Sara, I can tell you're exhausted. You need to go home and get some sleep." John said in a quiet voice.  
  
"But John, I've only been here." Sara began, but her voice trailed off as she struggled to remember just how long it had been since she started this shift.  
  
"You've been on duty for close to 14 hours non-stop. You need to get some rest," John admonished.  
  
"But what about you?" Sara demanded.  
  
"I caught a cat-nap a little while ago, and I don't have a loving daughter who is probably wondering where her mommy is right now," John replied.  
  
"That's fighting dirty," Sara muttered.  
  
John laughed, but it sounded strained. "Get out of here, and what's more, you are banned from the hospital tomorrow."  
  
"What, but Dr. Nichols," Sara said in shock.  
  
"Don't you 'Dr. Nichols' me. You are drained, and you need a vacation day. Don't worry, it is a paid day, I know how hard you have been working. Take your daughter to the beach and have fun. And before you say anything about other doctors deserving it more," John continued as Sara was about to open her mouth, "I checked the stats. You've worked 30 hours more this week than any other doctor. Go HOME!"  
  
Sara was about to protest, but the look in John's eyes told her it would be useless. So, she sighed, and said, "Yes sir."  
  
***  
  
As Piper continued to work on breakfast, Leo orbed in. He walked over and hugged Piper, who smiled sadly and said, "Hello honey. How are you doing?"  
  
Leo said, "That is actually what I wanted to ask you. I know I've been gone a lot lately." "You've had charges to relocate, I understand," Piper said quickly. "It was important that you move the witches before some of the new demons took advantage of the situation. Besides, you helped me that night." Piper trailed off as she remembered the night, that first night when Gabriel was finally gone. Melinda couldn't sleep, and Piper just couldn't stop crying. Leo had stayed with her all night, and rocked her as she expressed her grief. She still mourned, but now she could at least function.  
  
"But not more important than family," Leo said firmly. "So, how is everyone?"  
  
Piper sighed, and looked at Leo. Leo could read immense grief and pain there. "I don't know what to do. Phoebe and Cole have been up every night the last week trying to find or bring back their son. I want to tell them not to, but I can't. I mean, if it had been Melinda."  
  
Leo pulled her into an embrace, and said, "It's alright. I understand. I'll talk to them. There has to be something we can do." Paige and Michael walked downstairs at that moment, and Piper asked, "Hey Paige, hey Michael. Did you guys sleep well?"  
  
"I slept alright," Paige commented, "and before you ask, Cole and Phoebe went to bed about 3am, and Phoebe cried herself to sleep."  
  
Piper's face became sad as she said, "We have to do something. There has to be something we can do to comfort her."  
  
"I completely agree," Michael commented, "I mean, they lost a child. I've heard of parents who committed suicide over that. It'll take time for them to deal with it, and it will take a great deal of support from this family."  
  
"I don't think there's much we can do at this point," Paige said, "Unless Gabriel came back. Leo are you sure." Paige asked hopefully.  
  
"The Guardians can no longer sense Gabriel, which means he doesn't exist," Leo pointed out sadly. The sisters had asked him that question at least 30 times this week, but Leo did not mind answering it. He just wished there was something else he could say.  
  
"It's not actually Phoebe I'm worried about," Piper said, "It's Cole. Phoebe is openly grieving, which is important, but I don't think Cole is grieving at all. How can we help him if he won't let us in?"  
  
Leo looked up in the direction on Cole and Phoebe's bedroom, and said, "I don't think Cole has accepted the fact that Gabriel is dead."  
  
"Who can blame him?" Paige replied.  
  
"I'm not, the fact that he thinks that is common," Leo replied, "but it prevents you from grieving. As long as Cole holds out on the hope that Gabriel is alive, he can't move on."  
  
As if his name summoned him, Cole came down the stairs. Everyone bit back a gasp at the sight of him. Cole had deep rings under his eyes, and he looked like he was fighting to keep himself together. He looked at them, forced a smile, and said, "I'm going to work. Tell Phoebe I'll be back around 4:30 this afternoon."  
  
"But Cole," Paige began, but he was already out the door. "It's Saturday." she trailed off softly.  
  
Phoebe came down about thirty seconds later, and asked, "Did Cole go off to work?" When the sisters nodded, Phoebe sat down heavily, and looked over at them. "I need your help."  
  
The sisters, Michael, and Leo immediately sat down next to her and Piper said, "Anything, honey. We're here for you."  
  
"I miss Gabriel, and it hurts so bad I can barely speak," Phoebe said, "but the hurt is getting less every day as time passes, and I am able to grieve. Cole is not grieving, and I can see how much it hurts him to hold it in. We have to do something."  
  
"Well, why not just stop casting spells to find Gabriel?" Paige asked, then said, "Not that you should, I mean.you know what I mean."  
  
"That's alright, I don't really think the spells will work," Phoebe replied with a ghost of a smile. "Then why do you do it?" Piper asked. "For Cole," Phoebe commented brokenly, "Cole cannot give up. Something is driving him inwardly, some inner pain he refuses to voice. I can see it and practically feel it. Cole is hiding something."  
  
"What do you think that is?" Leo questioned.  
  
Phoebe sighed, and then said, "I.don't know, but whatever is driving him makes it impossible for him to let Gabriel go. Until he lets that out, Cole cannot and will not grieve. We have to help him."  
  
"You're right, that kind of thing can drive a person mad, no matter how strong," Leo mentioned, "and we'll deal with it when he gets back, but I have a question for you. How are you holding up?"  
  
Phoebe looked over at him, and then said, "It hurts to breathe, to exist. I look around, and my body and mind scream for my son. But, each day it gets a little easier. Slowly, I am accepting the fact that Gabriel is not coming back."  
  
***  
  
"Mommy, Mommy," Sara's daughter screamed to her.  
  
"Yes, dear. What did you find?" Sara asked.  
  
"Look, mommy. Isn't it pretty." Her daughter brought over a very pretty rock, which Sara dutifully admired.  
  
"Yes, Arianna, it is very pretty." Sara replied. The child beamed, and then ran back to the water's edge to find more pretty objects. Sara sighed. Sometimes I wish I could forget that easily she thought gloomily. But she couldn't, no more than she could forget the events that brought her to this point.  
  
Sara was a witch, one with the power of transmogrification. She had always been happy to have it, and been honored to be one. However, she would have traded it up instantly to no longer know just how close to destruction the human race got. According to her whitelighter, some ancient evil had returned, and almost destroyed everyone. Makes you really wish for ignorance Sara thought wryly. But then there would still be the massive injuries that his arrival caused, the riot wounds and the general injuries and the.  
  
Sara forcibly changed the direction of her thoughts. She had come here to relax, not to dwell on things like that. Sara smiled as she thought of her little daughter. Arianna was only four, but she already possessed Sara's gift, and she was a constant joy to her life. Even though Sara's marriage hadn't lasted, she was glad that she had this little blessing in her life.  
  
"Mommy mommy!" Arianna called out.  
  
"Yes, honey," Sara replied absently as her mind wandered.  
  
"Come here, quick!" Something in her daughter's voice made Sara worry, so she looked up. When she saw what Arianna was pointing to, she got up and broke into a dead run. Lying on the beach as if washed up with the tide was a small boy.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED. 


	2. Part 2

Recovery 2  
  
(I do not own any part of Charmed. I just write about it. This continues a storyline begun in Degrees of Evil, and continued in several other stories).  
  
"Oh, my God." Sara said as she ran forward quickly. The boy wasn't moving, and Arianna was turning him over. Sara slid down on her knees and quickly put hand to the boy's neck. She gave a small mental sigh of relief. He still had a pulse. It was very weak and erratic, but it was there. Sara did not know how she could have handled telling her daughter he was dead.  
  
Her daughter looked at Sara worriedly, and said, "Is he alright Mommy?"  
  
"Of course," Sara replied firmly, even as she wondered inside. "Now, you need to step back and let mommy work." Her daughter nodded, and took two little steps back.  
  
Sara pulled the boy a little farther away from the shore, and began to examine him. He was still breathing, and he didn't appear to have any water in his lungs. His clothes were heavily torn, however, and he had a series of peculiar wounds all along his body. When Sara put her hand to his head, she jerked it back as if burned. The boy had the highest fever Sara had ever felt.  
  
Sara opened his eyes to check and see if they were dilated, and barely bit back a gasp. The child looked absolutely normal, until you saw his eyes. To Sara's shock, the child's pupils were shaped like hourglasses! Sara realized this child had to be magical, and she also know she could never take him to a hospital. One look at the child's eyes and pretty much every newspaper on the planet would know magic was real. Sara looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized no one else was around.  
  
"Come on, honey, we need to go." Sara said as she gently picked the child up. Arianna nodded, and picked up some of their beach things. Sara hurried to the car, and put the child in the passenger seat. She needed to get him someplace safe, and in a hurry. Sara didn't know what was going on, but she knew if the child wasn't treated soon, he would die.  
  
***  
  
As Cole walked into the house, he heaved a sigh, and shouted, "I'm back."  
  
"That's great, can you come here honey?" Phoebe called out.  
  
"Where are you?" Cole questioned.  
  
"I'm in the living room," Phoebe replied.  
  
Cole turned and walked into the room, and found not only Phoebe but everyone sitting there waiting for him. "Well, this can't be good," Cole commented. He tried to make it sound funny, but it came out harsh.  
  
Phoebe winced, and then said, "Cole, Mortanos just stopped by. They're going to hold a memorial service for our son, since their.since the body wasn't found. He invited us to go, its tomorrow."  
  
Cole bit back a frown as he replied, "Well, I guess that's alright.kind of pointless to mourn a living person though,"  
  
"Cole, Gabriel is dead, you have to accept that," Leo began.  
  
"No, I don't," Cole snapped, "My son is like me, a survivor. I came back from worse odds than this, like the Wasteland. Unless his soul shows up and specifically tells me that he's dead, I won't believe it."  
  
Piper eyes were full of sympathy as she said, "Cole, not even the Guardians can sense him. I went through the same thing when Prue died. I didn't want to believe, I just couldn't believe. But sooner or later, you have to realize he's gone. It's not healthy otherwise."  
  
"No, no," Cole said as he shook his violently, "Gabriel is alive. He has to be."  
  
"Why Cole, why does he have to be alive?" Michael asked insistently.  
  
"BECAUSE I CAN'T BE FORGIVEN IF HE'S DEAD!" Cole shouted as, unnoticed, tears began to flow down his cheeks.  
  
"Cole, you did nothing wrong, why do you need to be forgiven?" Leo asked.  
  
"I'm his father, it's my job to protect him," Cole replied hoarsely, "if a man outlives his son, then the man failed in his son. I failed him, I failed all of you,"  
  
Phoebe walked over and said fiercely, "Cole, you did NOT fail. You did everything you could,"  
  
"I should have told him about the Triangle, so we could use it before," Cole said bitterly.  
  
"Cole, I'm sure you had a good reason not to tell us. Why didn't you?" Paige questioned.  
  
"I knew the Triangle could only be used by someone evil, and would be fatal to good, but I.I still should have done something sooner," Cole remarked. "But I wasn't strong enough, wasn't good enough, and now my son is DEAD, and it's all my fault," Cole fell to his knees and began to cry, racking sobs that tore through him.  
  
As the family got closer, Piper bent down and looked him in the eye, "Cole, you are the only person in the history of the world to overcome Kain's touch. Not even the Guardians were strong enough. And if you hadn't have done that, then Gabriel would still be dead, and the world would fall to evil,"  
  
"But." Cole began.  
  
"No buts," Phoebe interrupted, "You did everything you could, and more than anyone else could have. I don't think even Gabriel would blame you or hold anything against you. You know our son, do you honestly think he would blame you?"  
  
Cole forced himself to remember all the good times, the nights he had spent watching Gabriel sleep, the seconds of watching that turned into hours without him realizing it. He looked up at Phoebe and said through devastation and grief, "Oh, Phoebe. I want him back!"  
  
As Cole dissolved into weeping, Phoebe, Paige, and soon the entire group pulled him into a hug. They gave him comfort and love as he finally wept for his son, who had given so much for this world.  
  
***  
  
"Kylie!" Sara shouted as she put the child down on the bed. A few moments later, a short female orbed into the room.  
  
"Sara, what's wrong? What happened?" Kylie asked anxiously.  
  
"Here, I need you to heal him," Sara said quickly.  
  
Kylie looked very sad as she said, "Sara, we've been over this. I can only heal people wounded by evil, not just any old wounds."  
  
"I know, but this child is magical. I swear it," Sara replied.  
  
"How do you know that?" Kylie asked.  
  
Sara opened one of the child's eyes, and Kylie gasped. "What, how?"  
  
"Heal now, tell later." Sara interrupted.  
  
Kylie bent to heal, but a few moments later she stopped and looked up. She grabbed Sara and said, "We have to talk, NOW!"  
  
Sara looked around, and saw that Arianna was sitting near the boy, looking anxious. "Honey, don't worry. He'll be fine. Kylie and I just need to talk."  
  
Kylie pulled Sara out of Arianna's earshot, and then said, "Where did you find this boy?"  
  
When Sara finished explaining, Kylie looked back at the boy and said softly, "We have a very serious problem."  
  
"Why, what is wrong? Why don't you heal him?" Sara replied in confusion.  
  
"I don't know. I can heal anything that is good, but I can't heal this child's wounds," Kylie replied gravely.  
  
"Surely you don't think the boy's evil?" Sara replied scornfully.  
  
"No, of course not, I can read his good aura from here," Kylie snapped, "but whatever inflicted those wounds was so evil, so pure evil, that my healing cannot overcome it. The only thing I've heard of that would be powerful enough would be."  
  
As Kylie trailed off, Sara interjected, "What? What is it?"  
  
Kylie sighed, and then said softly, "Only Kain has this kind of power. Which means this child fought Kain. And not just fought. These kinds of wounds would take some serious power from Kain. No, this boy was a real thorn in Kain's side. Listen, I'm going to check with the Elders about this boy, and find out what I can do. I'll be back as soon as I can. Until then, try and stabilize the boy."  
  
Before Sara could respond, Kylie orbed out. Sara bit back a curse and looked back at the child in fear. She didn't know if the child could survive this. Most ADULTS she knew would never survive wounds like this child had. Sara had to face the facts. Unless a miracle happened, this child was going to die.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED. 


	3. Part 3

Recovery 3  
  
(I do not own any part of Charmed. I just write about it. This continues a storyline begun in Degrees of Evil, and continued in several other stories).  
  
"Any change?" Kylie asked as she orbed in.  
  
"Not in the last few hours," Sara responded. "His fever is still very high, and to be honest, I don't know how he is still alive. What did you find out?"  
  
"Not a whole lot," Kylie replied. "The Elders are in an emergency meeting, and so no whitelighters are admitted. I checked with some of my fellow whitelighters, but there is no record of a young male witch with hourglass eyes. However, things are so scattered up there it is hard to find anyone that can tell us anything. Half the whitelighters were turned by healing the wounds of Kain, and are only slowly reporting back in."  
  
"We need help, and we need answers," Sara replied desperately. "I don't know how much longer he will last. Are you sure you can't heal him? I mean, Kain is dead, so what's." Sara trailed off as Kylie's face went pale.  
  
"I'm sorry, I can't," Kylie said gravely. "These wounds are still active, which means if I heal him, I'll be changed to evil. I don't know if it would be permanent, but I don't know. If I knew for sure one way or the other, I'd do it in a heartbeat."  
  
"Well, is there a poultice or something I don't know about that could help?" Sara asked.  
  
"No, but something is puzzling me," Kylie replied.  
  
"What?" Sara asked quickly.  
  
"None of the others infected by Kain had a fever. They all simply fell over, and a few minutes later were evil or dead. In this case, it almost seems like this child's body is trying to fight off the infection, and the heat is a side effect. Which means this child is either a VERY strong witch or."  
  
"Something not human," Sara finished.  
  
*** "Are you ready?" Mortanos said gravely.  
  
"As ready as we'll ever be," Phoebe replied sadly.  
  
"Give me your hands," Mortanos continued. The group did so, and they slowly faded out. ***  
  
"MOMMY!" Arianna screamed loudly. Sara and Kylie turned, and they ran into the other room. When they got there, they stopped in shock. A man with black eyes was trying to grab Arianna, who had morphed into a small bird.  
  
"ARIANNA!" Sara shouted.  
  
The demon turned, and smiled evilly," Well, well, well. A two for one deal." He then began to walk towards Sara. Kylie jumped and tried to tackle the demon, but he waved as Kylie jumped, and she was thrown back hard.  
  
"My Master Kain empowered all of us before his demise, so we can continue his work even after his death." the demon said sardonically.  
  
Sara said nothing, but suddenly a giant bear was where she stood. She took a swing at the demon, and knocked him back. The demon got back up and threw an energy ball, and Sara fell back. She found herself in intense pain, and couldn't maintain the form of a bear. She looked up in her human form as the demon approached.  
  
"Too easy," the demon said. "Do you have any last words?"  
  
"Don't touch them." A new voice said. The demon and Sara both looked up, and Sara felt her heart stop.  
  
The boy was awake! He was sweating profusely and leaning heavily against the wall, but he was conscious. The demon looked at the boy, and snorted. "Or what? You'll breathe heavily on me. I'll get to you in time, boy. You and that little girl can be my little bonuses."  
  
The demon turned back towards Sara, so only she saw the boy's eyes begin to glow white. He shouted, "I SAID DON'T TOUCH THEM!" and threw out his right hand. A bolt of white energy shot from him and slammed into the demon. The demon burst into flames, and then died.  
  
Sara slowly got to her (wincing at new bruises) and turned to the boy. He smiled slightly, and took one step forward. He then fell forward and landed flat on his face.  
  
***  
  
"We are here today to mourn the falling of our brother," Mortanos began. The group was standing in the center of some monument somewhere in some dimension. Birds were singing a somber melody, and it seemed to Phoebe as if the whole world was weeping. No one in this group had a dry eye. Phoebe, Paige and Piper were all leaning against their respective men, and the men themselves were also crying.  
  
"Our brother Life has made the ultimate sacrifice in service to Good. He fought hard his whole short life, and we shall miss him. A piece of all of us was made better because of him, and now that he is gone, we all feel the loss keenly. Let us bow our heads, and give respects to the one who has fallen so that all may live."  
  
All but Mortanos bowed their heads, and the sisters watched in puzzlement. Mortanos had a puzzled look on his face, as if he were reading something strange. He looked around, and his eyes lost focus. Suddenly, a wide broad grin came over his face, and the sisters realized in shock that he was starting to cry.  
  
"I don't believe it," Mortanos shouted. When the other Guardians looked back up, Mortanos spoke excitedly in some other language. A few seconds later, the other Guardians were cheering.  
  
"What's going on?" Phoebe demanded.  
  
Mortanos turned and shouted, "THE LINK IS BACK!"  
  
The group froze in shock, and then Cole said, "But that means." then a grin split his face as he said, "GABRIEL IS ALIVE!"  
  
***  
  
"Is there any change?" Kylie asked.  
  
"I'm afraid it's gotten worse," Sara replied as she put the boy back on the bed. "Whatever he did to that demon seemed to use up a lot of his strength. His fever is falling, but so is his pulse. I think his body has lost whatever battle it was facing."  
  
"Then let us give it a hand," a new voice said. Sara and Kylie whirled as a group of people appeared in the center room. There were three females and four males, and the one in the lead was the one who had spoken.  
  
"Who are you?" Kylie demanded, but then one of the men said in surprise, "KYLIE!"  
  
Kylie looked at him, and then said, "Leo? How are you doing? What is going on?"  
  
The man smiled, and said, "I understand you may have a charge of mine?"  
  
Before anyone else could speak, the man in the lead shoved past Sara and Kylie. He put his hands on the boy's head, and said, "Death to Life, I form a bond. Death to Life, I give thee strength." A light began to emit from his hand. The light traveled down the man's hand and entered the boy's head.  
  
"What is going on?" Sara demanded.  
  
"I think we need to talk," one of the woman said, "But first." she walked forward and before Sara could say anything, pulled her into a hug. She then whispered in a voice tight with joy, "Thank you for trying to save my son."  
  
***  
  
"So, you're the Charmed Ones?" Sara asked. When they nodded, she continued, "And you are the Guardian of Death?"  
  
Mortanos nodded, and said, "Pretty much yeah."  
  
"And the boy."  
  
"Gabriel," Cole interjected.  
  
"Right, Gabriel," Sara said, "He is the Guardian of Life." When they all nodded, Sara said, "And I thought my life was complicated. When will Gabriel regain consciousness?"  
  
"In a few days," Mortanos replied.  
  
"I need to thank him for saving me," Sara said.  
  
"I wouldn't worry about it," Paige replied. "I think you will have plenty of opportunities to do just that."  
  
THE END 


End file.
